Home Is Where The Heart Is
by wordtypo
Summary: Everyone craves affection; some would even say it is as -if not more- important to life as water and food. Yuuri is not one to disagree.
1. A Choice

**Hey guys, guess who's still alive & well? Me of course! Hahaha... Anyways, this ship is like home for me; be it platonic or romantic. I may leave it for a while, but I'll always end up returning, and with even stronger feelings. This is just one of those times. I hope you guys enjoy it :)**

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"Conrad, do you know why I was crying?"

The soldier was stumped. Why? Isn't it because Yuuri was forced to choose between them? Isn't it because his beautiful king is too kind, too generous, and too understanding to ever tell the soldier that he wasn't needed in the teenager's life anymore? Isn't that why he himself had decided to hand in his letter of formal resignation- to lessen the burden on the maou's shoulders?

The soldier didn't move. His mind was spinning out of control thinking of reasons, of all the small and individual events that ended up winding together to give birth to this disaster. He was experiencing so many feelings all at one; it was disorienting. _Sadness, fury, distress, confusion,_ but most of all _frustration_. He was frustrated that Yuuri was crying. Yuuri, the gentle soul, the sun that brought the light back into his life. _His_ precious and dear Yuuri was in pain, and that he couldn't do anything but stand there.

"Because _Conrad_ , there isn't a choice."

Those large dark orbs stared up at his godfather expectantly, as if awaiting a moment of acknowledgement, or a nod of understanding. But there was no nod, no lighting up of the eyes, no sudden realizations, and the silence only grew as the half born just stared back blankly.

Yuuri only sighed, running his hands through his ink coloured hair, showing his impatience at Conrad's lack of apprehension. Weariness and exhaustion were painted on the king's visage, yet one could still see the determination steadily shining in those jet black eyes of his. It was then that the soldier was once again reminded that his king was unshakable in his beliefs and decisions.

"Don't you understand? There is never a choice when it comes to you. Not now, not ever. How do you not realize how important you are to me? I can take losing him, I can imagine life without him, and as much as it hurts now, I will heal in due time. But you, _you_ are a whole different story. I'd crumble if you weren't by my side, Conrad. You are ever more so my heart, and home is wherever the heart is. _Staying_ would be meaningless without you. You were here from the very beginning -when I first arrived in Shin Makoku- and I will do everything in my power to make sure that you see it through with me 'till the very end."

The soldier was dumbfounded for the first time in his life. He didn't know what to say. So he blinked once, and then a second time, and a few more after that.

And so the teenager continued, "That's why I was avoiding him for so long. I knew he'd bring it up eventually, and once he did, our relationship would be over. Because there isn't even a decision to make; I will _always_ choose you. God, it just _really really hurts_ right now, Conrad. I don't want to see him in pain, I don't want him to suffer because of my choices. And as selfish as it may be, I still want him in my life."

The situation might've been funny, seeing the teenager flailing his hands around to emphasis his point, and the captain's rare speechlessness. In fact, maybe when some time has passed, and both parties are in their right senses, they'll have a laugh over this. However, as of right now, the young king was sad and tired. Now that he was satisfied with telling the soldier his thoughts and feelings, he only had two things on his mind- _really soft mattresses and fluffy pillows._

"Sorry Conrad, but could you leave me alone please? I need to wail in despair and self pity for a little while." He tried to flash the soldier a grin, but it only managed to turn out as a grimace. Not waiting for Conrad's response, the double black started trudging towards his place of solace.

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 **Hey again. Hoped you liked this. I might- just _might_ continue this story, since it's so open ended right now. Did Yuuri just make a love confession to Conrad? Or did the teenager mean nothing more than just simply platonic feelings? Who is the "he" that Yuuri is talking about? What happened that led Yuuri to have to make this decision? I feel like you'd be able to take an educated guess and get all the correct answers, since all of you are smart people, but still,**

 **curiosity killed the cat.**


	2. The Game

**So... I think I'm doing pretty well with this whole "updating" thing. Granted, this is only the second chapter, but still...**

 **This chapter and the chapters from now on will be a time reverse-leap, if that makes sense. We're heading back in the timeline.**

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 **-A Few Months Earlier-**

The sun shone with a mocking intensity, and the sky was painted a rich blue, with no clouds in sight. The perfect weather was gently beckoning the king, who was currently labouring underneath a mountain of paperwork. Yuuri desperately wished to go outside. It would be easy. He could just walk out right now and go play baseball, or just simply sit on the lush fields and be content with the wind brushing against his face. It's not like Gwendel chained him to his desk and was holding him at gunpoint. Yuuri smiled, it seemed like something Gwendel would be capable of doing. Of-course, he'd never actually hurt the king, much less fire the gun; the older man was much softer than he looked. Unfortunately, Yuuri still stayed glued to his seat. He was no longer the boy he was a couple years ago when he first arrived in Shin Makoku. He has grown even more into the position of king, and now understands just how necessary and important his duties are, even if they can bore someone to death. Yuuri decides that the changes these papers will enforce will be worth his personal sacrifice, and so he doesn't stop his hand from writing. That is, until he hears a soft knock on the door, along with a very familiar voice.

"Heika?"

Yuuri grinned, his soldier always seemed to have the perfect timing. "Who? I'm sorry, but I think you've got the wrong room."

"Oh, I see. My mistake. I'm sorry to have disturbed you."

Yuuri waited for the soldier's continuation of their banter, but only silence was heard. Yuuri contemplated if the older man had left. However, if the man didn't leave, the double black surely didn't want to be the one to give in. After all, he didn't like losing. So he continued dipping his pen into the ink bottle, signing sheets and doing paperwork. He checked his clock again, a whole 10 minutes have passed. Surely, the soldier wouldn't wait outside his door for this long? He probably really did think he had knocked on the wrong room, and left. Or maybe he misinterpreted Yuuri's teasing as a sign of the king not wanting to be bothered? Thoughts ran wild in the the double black's head, and soon he found himself unable to focus. Curiosity was eating away at him. Sighing, he decided that he might as well go see for himself, and get rid of the cause of his distraction. Slowly, he got up and walked towards the door, and gently pried it open, only to have a tan uniform blocking his vision. He looked up to see a certain someone trying very hard to keep a straight face (The years spent in this magical world were not wasted, as they have made him an expert in reading the soldier). The king breathed out an exasperated breath, not believing the amount of dedication and perseverance the knight had.

"Fine! You win…"

The soldier only smiled, "Yuuri, may I please come in?"

The king just stared at him, "You're crazy, Conrad." And he opened the door wider, beckoning for the lord to enter.

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 **Yep this chapter was pretty short. But that's alright, because the next one is on its way to speak. This story will probably have the most chapters out of all of my fics. There's just so many things that need to happen in order for the plot to be whole.**

 **Anyways I hope you liked this update, I tried to make it playful and fun.**


	3. Content

**This one is a bit longer than the last, which is only better for everyone. Well, maybe except for my body, because of it's lack of sleep. But, sleep is overrated. I always struggle a bit with writing Conrad, because if I recall correctly, he is quite different between the novel, the manga and the actual anime. It's been a very long time since I've watched it, but I've always felt that Conrad is more quiet, stoic and "flat" in the anime than he actually is in the novel/manga.**

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"I brought you some snacks, in case you were hungry."

"Oh thanks Conrad! I'm due for a break now anyways. Do you want some as well?"

"Thank you, but I'm not hungry right now."

Conrad retreated back towards the door, after he had delivered the refreshments, seeming ready to leave. Yuuri frowned a bit at the knight's response, but then shrugged, "ah well, all the more for me I guess."

The soldier bowed slightly before opening the door and exiting.

The magic user pouted a bit. He randomly picked one of the assortments, and nibbled on it. He supposed the cookie was delicious, but his mind was a bit too distracted thinking of certain matters to register the flavour. Okay, well, he's not fooling anyone; those certain matters obviously related to his dear knight. Yuuri just didn't like how Conrad was so polite with him all the time! It would be understandable if they were in a public setting, but the politeness never faltered even when they were alone. It creates a distance between them; it's as if Conrad purposely uses it to prevent them from getting too close. The politeness makes it seem like all the teasing and playing around didn't matter, like their relationship would always be set back to square one.

The more logical part of Yuuri's brain agreed with the distance; they are liege and retainer after all. It is very common, even suggested that there is always a breadth between the two. In fact, many of the royalty would actually frown down upon Yuuri and Conrad's current relationship, claiming it isn't proper for them to be this close. But when did the young man ever believe in propriety?

The king yawned, leaned back against his oak chair and stretched. He was satisfied with his work, and felt that he had accomplished quite a lot in the span of the day. He had approved of a public works project to be built within the city, one that will increase national pride and hopefully give the place a more welcoming feeling to both visitors and residents. He had made sure that more of the nation's funds would be dedicated to education, and to sponsoring the arts, such as music and theatre. He had also drafted a proposition to make sure every citizen would have equal rights, and to diminish the power of the loyalty, giving more authority to the residents. He knew this draft would surely be one that many would oppose, but he had to give it a try. He loved this kingdom, but as many positives as there are, there are also so many negatives. Sometimes it felt like there were endless adjustments to be made, and constant problems he needed to attend to. He supposed there were, since nothing ever stays the same, and the kingdom- along with the people in it- are constantly changing, adapting and evolving. He only hoped that with his guidance, his beloved nation would be on a path towards a better future.

The king glanced at the window. The orange sun was blurring with the rest of the skyline, washing the whole sky into a gentle coral colour. It was time for dinner. He shuffled his papers to make sure that they were in order, and neatly placed them on the edge of his desk. He excitedly got up from his chair and left, heading towards the dining hall.

"Hey Wimp! Stop right there."

Yuuri grinned, old habits die hard. He spun around to face the familiar voice. "Wolfram! I'm just about to go have dinner, care to join me?"

"Of course! Why else would I be walking in this direction right now?"

"I don't know, maybe you needed to go to the infirmary, or maybe you had to fetch a few supplies from that dusty old closet over there." The double black pointed to a creepy and ancient looking door. Both of them shuddered, and hurried past it, like it was a bad omen. (Unlike the "Bad Omen" birds that actually meant you were lucky if you heard them. )

The blond soldier gave an indignant grunt. "Or maybe I'm just really hungry, and would love to sit down and enjoy a hearty meal."

"Right of course, that too."

They looked at each other, and suddenly broke into laughter. Apparently it was too hard to keep a straight face these days. After they had recovered, they continued to walk without talking to each other, welcoming the comfortable silence. Their once rocky relationship that Yuuri had with Wolfram now seemed fundamental to him now, and he couldn't picture a world without him. The young prince went from an enemy, to a grudging fiance, and then he had become a close companion, someone who Yuuri could support on, and someone he always knew would be there for him, through thick and thin. However, their engagement was never officially terminated; they had agreed to keep the "farce" in play, for the benefit of both parties. Yuuri wouldn't have to deal with the entourage of suitors, and Wolfram wouldn't have to listen to his mother nag him about finding a lovely partner. Greta would have both of the fathers present in her life, and the relationship with the Von Bielefelt family would also be more secure. It seemed like there were only positives in this relationship, and so both of them willingly continued on with it. Of course, Yuuri didn't just keep up the act because of the political benefits, he also simply enjoyed the presence of Wolfram. The prince was someone who kept things alive and entertaining, and the palace would always seem a little less lively when the blond left for an excursion.

Alas, the king and the prince had reached the dining room. Yuuri pushed open the door, and the light flooded into their eyes, temporarily blinding them. Next came the warmth, wrapping around their bodies, hugging them in a motherly embrace. Then was the smell. Ah, that delicious smell that reflected the gross amount of love and care put into the preparation. And finally, the smiles of those he had most dear to him, beckoning him to join them, a needed member of their large family. Things just couldn't be more perfect. It was moments like these, that truly warmed the young king's soul, and made him realize just how lucky he was.

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 **Yep, I hope you guys liked this chapter. I always thought Wolfram was a really nice person/friend if you managed to get past his angry side ;)**


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